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Apple CEO Says Chinese Have More Skill Making Their Products Than Americans

Indus

Indus

Lifer
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ti...ducts-in-china-because-its-cheaper-2015-12-20

“It’s skill,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in response to a question on “60 Minutes” Sunday from Charlie Rose as to why the company’s products are made in China.

Rose clearly wasn’t buying it. “They have more skills than American workers? They have more skills than German workers?” he pressed.

“The U.S., over time, began to stop having as many vocational kind of skills,” Cook explained. “I mean, you can take every tool and die maker in the United States and probably put them in a room that we’re currently sitting in. In China, you would have to have multiple football fields.”

Earlier in the interview, the conversation heated up just a bit when the subject turned to allegations that Apple AAPL, +1.23% is a “tax avoider” and is “engaged in a sophisticated scheme” to shelter the $74 billion in revenue parked overseas.

“That is total political crap,” Cook fired back. He said he’d “love to bring it home” but doesn’t because “it would cost me 40%... and I don’t think that’s a reasonable thing to do. This is a tax code, Charlie, that was made for the industrial age, not the digital age. It’s backwards. It’s awful for America. It should have been fixed many years ago. It’s past time to get it done.”

Cook also defended the company on the thorny issue of encryption, showed off Apple’s future headquarters and, again, talked about why he came out of the closet.

The show didn’t reveal much in the way of headline-making news, like sales data on the Apple Watch or the outlook for driverless cars. The world’s most valuable company — and also one of its most secretive — knows how to control the message. Rose conceded as much after the interview.

“They don’t put the story out there until they have decided it IS the story they want to tell,” he said.

While fans surely enjoyed the view from the inside, others were unimpressed.

For the REAL full transcript and video, which includes visits with some other high-profile Apple exectuives as well as a trip into the design studio, go to CBS.com.
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Interesting interview and it shows how tech companies think.
 
The reason the tool and die makers in the U.S. can fill a small room as opposed to football fields is because it doesn't pay to be a tool and die maker in the U.S. People are surprisingly logical when it comes to jobs like that.
 
And those skills aren't coming back because it makes more sense to take a loan and go to college to get a humanities degree so you don't have to join the depressing job market and party on the tax payer dime for 4+ years. As long as the government wants 60-70% of their kids getting mickey mouse degrees, open borders to undercut the workers in trade unions to press down wages, and high schools turned into circuses instead of teaching trade skills, few will bother to take the debt to go into trade schools.

No vocational skills? NASA had no problems hiring 450,000 engineers to build the Saturn V, but of course back then they used to teach skills in high school before it got taken over by the day care curriculum.
 
"We don't cheat on our taxes! We went double Irish and everything!"

Whoever has the gold makes the rules. It's just kind of depressing that that kind of behavior and pull is what prevents lawmakers from addressing obviously wrong policies and paralyzes them from making such activities illegal for the biggest abusers.
 
alcoholbob said:
And those skills aren't coming back because it makes more sense to take a loan and go to college to get a humanities degree so you don't have to join the depressing job market and party on the tax payer dime for 4+ years. As long as the government wants 60-70% of their kids getting mickey mouse degrees, open borders to undercut the workers in trade unions to press down wages, and high schools turned into circuses instead of teaching trade skills, few will bother to take the debt to go into trade schools.

No vocational skills? NASA had no problems hiring 450,000 engineers to build the Saturn V, but of course back then they used to teach skills in high school before it got taken over by the day care curriculum.
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Can you show me the policy that prefers students to get degrees in the studies you claim the government wants them to have?
 
As an fairly recently unemployed Journeyman Tool and Die Maker with 30 years of experience, many companies in the US do not even know what one is these days.

*shrug*
 
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alcoholbob said:
And those skills aren't coming back because it makes more sense to take a loan and go to college to get a humanities degree so you don't have to join the depressing job market and party on the tax payer dime for 4+ years. As long as the government wants 60-70% of their kids getting mickey mouse degrees, open borders to undercut the workers in trade unions to press down wages, and high schools turned into circuses instead of teaching trade skills, few will bother to take the debt to go into trade schools.

No vocational skills? NASA had no problems hiring 450,000 engineers to build the Saturn V, but of course back then they used to teach skills in high school before it got taken over by the day care curriculum.
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Yeh, let the hate & resentment flow through you. Fill yourself with self righteousness.

If skills are lacking in America, it's because there's little demand from American capitalists, hasn't been for decades. It doesn't mean there's a lack of talent.

So, uhh, how's that Rah-Rah! Capitalism thing going for you, anyway? I sense some inner turmoil, some misdirected displeasure with the much revered Job Creators. Venting helps, I'm sure, but the problem doesn't really go away, does it?

Cook obfuscates cause & effect while you buy right into it, blame de gubmint for what right wing ideology has created.
 
Jhhnn said:
Yeh, let the hate & resentment flow through you. Fill yourself with self righteousness.

If skills are lacking in America, it's because there's little demand from American capitalists, hasn't been for decades. It doesn't mean there's a lack of talent.

So, uhh, how's that Rah-Rah! Capitalism thing going for you, anyway? I sense some inner turmoil, some misdirected displeasure with the much revered Job Creators. Venting helps, I'm sure, but the problem doesn't really go away, does it?

Cook obfuscates cause & effect while you buy right into it, blame de gubmint for what right wing ideology has created.
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You're confused. What you try to characterize as a right versus left situation, is in fact a reality versus fantasy situation. It doesn't matter who you want to demonize. The fact is the U.S. has an expensive workforce, while Asia has a cheap workforce. Unless Americans are willing to earn wages on par with Asians, certain work, certain industries, certain skills will continue towards extinction in the U.S.

Doesn't matter who you elect, doesn't matter what laws you pass. Our choice is to either accept reality or fight against it. Reality is a very difficult thing to defeat. Good luck fighting against it.
 
ivwshane said:
Can you show me the policy that prefers students to get degrees in the studies you claim the government wants them to have?
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Pretty simple concept. Nations with free college education have much more stringent entrance requirements and as a result have higher graduation rates and much lower percentage of their kids actually going to college, somewhere around half. Most schools with STEM majors have GPA requirements. Do you see where this is leading? Even if all the students in your imaginary world went to college with the intention of paying off the debt they take and go into STEM fields, the vast majority lack the academic preparation, intelligence, or motivation needed to complete the degree, much less actually get into the department. Since STEM departments have standards, wanting everyone to go to college, and having government funded college actually being an investment that pays off is a contradiction.
 
“I mean, you can take every tool and die maker in the United States and probably put them in a room that we’re currently sitting in. In China, you would have to have multiple football fields.”
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I think this is patently wrong. I happen to know quite a few myself.
 
cubby1223 said:
You're confused. What you try to characterize as a right versus left situation, is in fact a reality versus fantasy situation. It doesn't matter who you want to demonize. The fact is the U.S. has an expensive workforce, while Asia has a cheap workforce. Unless Americans are willing to earn wages on par with Asians, certain work, certain industries, certain skills will continue towards extinction in the U.S.

Doesn't matter who you elect, doesn't matter what laws you pass. Our choice is to either accept reality or fight against it. Reality is a very difficult thing to defeat. Good luck fighting against it.
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Lol. Apple made 11 billion in profit last quarter alone! They have about 66k US employees, around 30k retail employees. If they gave every US employee a 10k raise they would still make over 10 billion in a quarter. Put another way they could hire another 11k workers making 60k and still make 10 billion in profit!

Hell! He could do all three and the company would still come out smelling like roses!
 
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alcoholbob said:
Pretty simple concept. Nations with free college education have much more stringent entrance requirements and as a result have higher graduation rates and much lower percentage of their kids actually going to college, somewhere around half. Most schools with STEM majors have GPA requirements. Do you see where this is leading? Even if all the students in your imaginary world went to college with the intention of paying off the debt they take and go into STEM fields, the vast majority lack the academic preparation, intelligence, or motivation needed to complete the degree, much less actually get into the department. Since STEM departments have standards, wanting everyone to go to college, and having government funded college actually being an investment that pays off is a contradiction.
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So the answer to my question is, no, there isn't a government policy and you were just talking out of your ass.
 
ivwshane said:
Lol. Apple made 11 billion in profit last quarter alone! They have about 66k US employees, around 30k retail employees. If they gave every US employee a 10k raise they would still make over 10 billion in a quarter. Put another way they could hire another 11k workers making 60k and still make 10 billion in profit!

Hell! He could do all three and the company would still come out smelling like roses!
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But won't their shares plummet after investors scream "EMERGAD YOU ONLY MADE A TRILLION IN PROFIT INSTEAD OF ELEVENTRILLION FIRE EVERYONE"? 😛
 
Fact check. According to BLS, there are 75,950 tool and die makers in the US, with a mean annual salary of $50,095 and a mean hourly wage of $24.08.

http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes514111.htm

I'm betting the Chinese tool and die makers work for a fraction of that. Which would be the real reason Apple is manufacturing in China, not some mythological self-serving crap about how no such people exist in the US.
 
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Companies like his move manufacturing jobs overseas, necessitating that economy build up the number of tool and die makers while those same jobs disappear over here because there is nobody to tool for. Now he points at that and says it's our fault that few tool and die makers exist? No, no no no no no NO. Nobody is going to train for a job that doesn't exist any more. What are they supposed to do, get the skills, offer to work cheap and wait for the jobs to come back? The jobs were here at one time but companies like Apple didn't want to pay the prevailing wages. So off they go to another country for cheap labor and now they tell us it's our fault they left.

What amazes me is how asshole CEOs like Cook can tell us how shitty we are and people do nothing but agree and then buy the shit that he says that they are too lazy and/or stupid to manufacture. They suck off of our consumers and weasel their way out of paying for their use of our infrastructure, all the while telling us what failures we are as a people and a nation.

Fuck him and his products.
 
Smart people refuse to buy over priced Apple Junk. I have never have or never will purchase anything branded Apple.

Ever.
 
woolfe9998 said:
Fact check. According to BLS, there are 75,950 tool and die makers in the US, with a mean annual salary of $50,095 and a mean hourly wage of $24.08.

http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes514111.htm

I'm betting the Chinese tool and die makers work for a fraction of that. Which would be the real reason Apple is manufacturing in China, not some mythological self-serving crap about how no such people exist in the US.
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The math only works out if most of them are unemployed and can take jobs at Apple on a whim.
 
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DrDoug said:
Companies like his move manufacturing jobs overseas, necessitating that economy build up the number of tool and die makers while those same jobs disappear over here because there is nobody to tool for. Now he points at that and says it's our fault that few tool and die makers exist? No, no no no no no NO. Nobody is going to train for a job that doesn't exist any more. What are they supposed to do, get the skills, offer to work cheap and wait for the jobs to come back? The jobs were here at one time but companies like Apple didn't want to pay the prevailing wages. So off they go to another country for cheap labor and now they tell us it's our fault they left.

What amazes me is how asshole CEOs like Cook can tell us how shitty we are and people do nothing but agree and then buy the shit that he says that they are too lazy and/or stupid to manufacture. They suck off of our consumers and weasel their way out of paying for their use of our infrastructure, all the while telling us what failures we are as a people and a nation.

Fuck him and his products.
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I agree. Well, it'll all work out when the chickens come home to roost, because Foxconn will probably start making their own cell phones and sell them direct. And why shouldn't they? You showed them EXACTLY how to make them, from A to Z. Why does Foxconn need Apple now? Not for Steve Jobs brilliant marketing anymore, that's for sure.

Most of these companies who moved production overseas have basically created the foundation for their own competition. Way to go, American businessmen!
 
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